Ficciones imperiales transpacíficas: Japón y la imaginación moderna en América Latina (1868–1945)

Author

• Sebastian Diaz Martinez, The Graduate Center, City University of New YorkFollow

Date of Degree

9-2026

Document Type

Doctoral Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Program

Latin American, Iberian and Latino Cultures

Advisor

Fernando Degiovanni

Committee Members

Silvia Dapía

Oswaldo Zavala

Subject Categories

Intellectual History | Latin American History | Latin American Literature

Keywords

Transpacific Studies, Japan and Latin America, Japanese Imerialism in Latin America, War and Literature, Technology and Literature, Imperialism and Racialization

Abstract

This dissertation examines how Latin American intellectual and artistic circles reacted to the expansionist policies of the Japanese Empire following the Meiji Restoration (1868–1912). It studies how different Latin American intellectual debates—particularly after Japan’s victory in the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905)—sought to identify Japan as an alternative model of modernization to Europe or the United States, as a potential ally capable of counterbalancing U.S. imperialism, or as an emerging threat to regional sovereignty. Focusing on imperialism (particularly in its role as a producer of racial orders), technology, and war, this dissertation studies the effects of the rise of Japanese imperialism on Latin American cultural production. Regarding imperialism, the dissertation examines texts by Nicolás Tanco Armero (1830–1890) and Francisco A. Loayza (1872–1963), concerning the ways in which Japan reorganized the racial structures and hierarchies of Eurocentrism. Through the study of the figure of the ship in the works of Teresa de la Parra (1889–1936), José Prudencio Bustillo (1876–?), and José Juan Tablada (1871–1945), it investigates how Japan became a technological paradigm for Latin America, seeking both modernization and inclusion within the dynamics of capitalism. Finally, through the works of Carlos Gagini (1865–1925) and Manuel Ugarte (1875–1951), the dissertation identifies the place of Japan within speculative fictions in which war is articulated as a social phenomenon capable of producing geopolitical transformations.

Recommended Citation

Diaz Martinez, Sebastian, "Ficciones imperiales transpacíficas: Japón y la imaginación moderna en América Latina (1868–1945)" (2026). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/6796